Talking Out Loud

Will

Her dark red hair flows behind her as the swing twists in the wind. Abbi. The smell of her is addicting. Her smile is contagious. Today I need her more than ever before. I need her to make me smile and laugh, even though I feel as if I shall never laugh again.

          I told Abbi once that she reminded me of cheesecake: just the sight of her makes me happy down to my toes. That’s what she does today, so I call her Cheesecake.

          I swing with her after my embarrassing moment of blurting out my heart. I stare into those analyzing green eyes of hers and all my fear runs away, leaving me light and happy.

          “So, what are you doing this weekend?” I ask casually.

          “Cam wants to go shopping on Friday, and I can’t say no to her. You?” she says, sighing though her mouth, her cheeks slightly puffing out with her breath.

          “Hanging out with Alex. She is such a demanding niece. When Eliza first announced that she was pregnant, I thought I might actually have fun, but now, I’m not so sure.”

          “So you’re the free babysitter?” she says, laughing. “Where will Emma be?”

          “Her friend Kaly will be having an overnight party, so she won’t be heard of until the afternoon on Saturday.”

          “That’s not too bad. I’m free on Saturday. Want to go see a movie or something to lighten your grey mood?”

          “It’s a date!” She gave me the look… oops. “I meant, not like a date, but like, uh…” I lost my train of thought.

          “It’s fine. You want to go anywhere? I’m free,” she hints.

          “Thanks, but I have to get back home and finish up my homework.”

          “Oh.” Her face darkens. “Okay. Call me later, okay?”

          “Sure thing,” I say and get up and out of the swing.

          After Alex, Emma, and Percy are in bed, I have my nightly call with Abbi. I dial her number, but didn’t hit send for a long time. When I finally do and she answers, she sounds irritated.

          “Hello?” she asks.

          “Hey Cheesecake. What’s up?”

          “Enna just took my shoes out of my hanging door pocket, and mixed them around, so now their not color coordinated or matched. Do you know how irritating that is?”

          ”No, I don’t know, but I can imagine. It does sound something like Enna would do though.”

          “I know, but you would think now that she’s twelve, that she would be mature enough to respect my stuff. Do I do that kind of junk to her stuff?”

          “Well, there is that one time…” she cuts me off.

          “Don’t answer that last question. What’s new with you?”

          “Nothing much, only that Percy’s front teeth are coming in and he’s screaming up a storm.”

          “I remember when Enna was teething. It sounds really painful.”

          “Which one,the screaming in my ear part, or the teething part?”

          “The teething part, I’m still dealing with the screaming in my ear part. Get on your computer and see what movies are at the theater.” I pull my laptop out of my school bag and boot it up. It takes a minute to warm up, and I can hear her whisper-yell at Enna to leave the room and leave her stuff alone. I smile, thinking how Edric does the same thing to me still to this day.

          “Okay,” I say when I pull up the theater’s movies, “The Hunger Games, Hero, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters, uh, that’s about all the good ones out there. What do you think?”

          “The Hunger Games. Defiantly. Absolutely. No question about it.”

          “Okay. What time?”

          “What ever works for you. Mom’s yelling at me, telling me to go to bed. Good night Will.”

          “Night Abbi.” She logged off, leaving me staring at my computer screen, which was now on my Facebook page. I turned on the video that someone had put there. It was from sixteen years ago. I watch as the semi hits the car, demolishing everything in its path. I hear myself cry as the person off tape yells “There’s a child in there! It’s alive!” and then the screen goes dark. Sitting there, I’m numb. It’s been sixteen years, but it seems as if yesterday. I turn off my computer, put it back in my bag, and crawl into bed.